2012 Tour de France

2012 Tour de France Route

Running from Saturday June 30th to Sunday July 22th 2012, the 99th Tour de France will be made up of 1 prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,479 kilometres.

Numbers of the Peloton

• 22 teams
• 198 riders
• 31 nations represented at the start
• 23 riders who are eligible for the youth classification (white jersey)
• Oldest rider: Jens Voigt (RNT) – 40 years, nine months and 13 days old at the start
• Youngest rider: Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) – 22 years, one month and one day old at the start

For this 2012 edition, no bonuses will be awarded in intermediate sprints and stage finishes. Official time remains the absolute reference.

A sole intermediate Sprint

As in 2011, the points for the green jersey classification will be awarded at stage arrivals and during the sole intermediate sprint in the straight stages.

Points scale increased in the mountains

For this 2012 edition, points will be awarded to the first ten riders who go over the top of the highest level mountain passes.
The points will be doubled for summit finishes.

100 kilometers of Time Trials

A prologue (6.1 km) and two individual time-trial stages will be featured on the programme of the 99th edition: 40 km between Arc-et-Senans and Besançon halfway through the Tour and 53 km between Bonneval and Chartres the day before the finish on the Champs-Élysées.

Prize Money

In total, around 2 million euros will be awarded to the teams and the riders, including 450, 000 euros for the winner of the general individual classification.

Prologue

Saturday 30 June Liège > Liège 6.4 km

Prologue: 6.4 km | Saturday, 30 June, Liège > Liège

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

At the end of the 6-km long route, marked out in the city-centre of Liège, the Yellow Jersey will reward the master of an athletic feat. Pure power will be the best strategy on the course’s long straight stretches. And the Belgian public, who is always present for the Tour, will definitely encourage the riders to achieve excellence.

Stage 1

Sunday 1 July Liège > Seraing 198 km

Stage 1: 198km | Sunday 1 JulyLiège > Seraing

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

Like in Brittany in 2008 and in Vendée in 2011, the finish of the first online stage of the Tour will be judged at the top of a hill after an ascent of 2.5 km. “Puncheurs” (strong cyclists with explosive speed which they use on short, but steep gradients with sudden attacks), will be expected to perform better here than pure sprinters. At a time when the riders will still have lots of energy, their performances promise to be spectacular.

Stage 2

Monday 2 July Visé > Tournai 207.5 km

Stage 2: 207.5km | Monday 2 July Visé > Tournai

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

As the route goes through Belgium, it will offer possibilities to fighters but it is highly likely that there will be a massive sprint finish at the end of the stage. Maybe those disappointed the day before will take their revenge. When the riders go through Tournai, it will provide us with an opportunity to remember Wouter Weylandt, who had the last victory of his career during the Circuit Franco- Belge in 2010.

Stage 3

Tuesday 3 July Orchies > Boulogne-sur-Mer 197 km

Stage 3: 197km | Tuesday 3 July, Orchies > Boulogne-sur-Mer

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

The start of this stage will remind the riders of Paris-Roubaix, since the cobblestone experts regularly pass through Orchies, on the Chemin des Prières and the Chemin des Abattoirs which have such evocative names. Then in the Monts du Boulonnais -five hills with a gradient of around 10 %-, the “puncheurs” will have the opportunity, as they did in Seraing, to provide the spectators and viewers with an outstanding performance. The finish will be judged at the end of a 700m long ascent.

Stage 4

Wednesday 4 July Abbeville > Rouen 214.5 km

Stage 4: 214.5km | Wednesday 4 July, Abbeville > Rouen

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

Riders who regularly take part in the Tour of Picardy are familiar with the pitfalls that the region can hold in store for them. The experts of bordure formations may well take advantage of the wind that blows by the seaside during the whole first part of the stage, which will boasts very beautiful scenery. The favourite riders in the race will have to be extremely careful, as they know how hard it is to make up for lost time caused by their carelessness at the beginning of the Tour.

Stage 5

Thursday 5 July Rouen > Saint-Quentin 196.5 km

Stage 5: 196.5km | Thursday 5 July, Rouen > Saint-Quentin

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

The favourite sprinters in the peloton will definitely call on their team mates on the Saint-Quentin road. Those who are not sure of staying the course all the way to Paris will already have an opportunity to try their luck in the district of the Champs-Élysées provided that the train of sprinters arrives on time.

Stage 6

Friday 6 July Épernay > Metz 207.5 km

Stage 6: 207.5km | Friday 6 July, Épernay > Metz

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

Statistically, we have remarked that the stages favourable to sprinters are sometimes hindered by inspired attackers, who can take advantage of the peloton’s wait-and-see approach, of weather conditions which deteriorate or of a disruption in the chase of a breakaway. In Metz, like elsewhere, the daring riders are capable of creating the surprise. The finish will be judged a stone’s throw from the Centre Pompidou which has recently welcomed its millionth visitor.

Stage 7

Cyclosportive riders are already familiar with La Planche des Belles Filles, where the Trois Ballons race finishes, but the professionals will discover the imposing final climb which leads to the resort. The figures speak for themselves: an ascent which is almost 6 kilometres long, an average gradient of 8.5% and some sections that have a gradient of 13%. The Tour’s favourites will definitely be successful there!

Stage 8

Sunday 8 July Belfort > Porrentruy 157.5 km

Stage 8: 157.5km | Sunday 8 July Belfort > Porrentruy

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

This medium mountain stage promises to be even more demanding as it will be short and difficult. The mere mention of these ascents, whose peaks crown the route in the Jura, illustrates how difficult it is: the Côte du Passage de la Douleur, the Col de La Croix, etc. This final ascent, about 20 kilometres from the finish will be a very decisive factor in the stage.

Stage 9

Individual time-trial Monday 9 July Arc-et-Senans > Besançon 41.5 km

Stage 9: 41.5km | Monday 9 July, Arc-et-Senans > Besançon

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

It was natural to choose the «the City of time» to host a time-trail of which the 38 km could carry a lot of weight at the end of the race. Besançon and its majestic citadel are linked to Arc-et-Senans, which is also a listed Unesco World Heritage site. The peloton’s best flat racers will try to minimize their time in a prestigious setting.

Stage 10

The rest day in Maçon will be necessary for the riders to attack this tenth, new and very promising stage. Before the descent to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, the climbers who may have lost a few seconds in Doubs will have the opportunity to pull themselves together in the ascent leading to the summit of the Col du Grand Colombier. This is the first time that the peloton of the Tour de France has been there.

Stage 11

Twenty years after the Winter Olympic Games, the riders will set off from Albertville for an alpine stage with a substantial agenda and marked out on a shorter distance. During 140 km, the peloton will go over the Col de la Madeleine, the Col de la Croix de Fer and the Col du Mollard before tackling the climb towards the resort of La Toussuire. This will certainly single out the potential winners.

Stage 12

If they want to put themselves out of the reach of the sprinters, the fighters are advised to take advantage of the imposing Col du Grand Cucheron and the Col du Granier situated in the first part of the stage. The finish line will be marked out in Davézieux, in the “Communauté de communes” (federation of municipalities) of the Bassin d’Annonay.

Stage 13

For the many holidaymakers who go there in the summer, the road that leads to Cap d’Agde is very often peaceful, but in all probability it will be full of pitfalls for the Tour’s riders. On this part of the Mediterranean coast, the wind is unpredictable but it is nearly always present. Let’s remember for example, the Montpellier to La Grande-Motte stage during the 2009 Tour.

Stage 14

The Pyrenean series will begin with a day of discovery that the fittest climbers will appreciate. The steep slopes of the Port de Lers and above all of the Mur de Péguère may well cause a lot of harm. The Mur de Péguère, which was initially chosen for the Tour’s route in 1973, but was not featured in the end, boasts areas where riders face gradients of almost 14%.

Stage 15

Monday 16 July Samatan > Pau 158.5 km

Stage 15: 158.5 km | Monday 16 July, Samatan > Pau

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

The riders who have had the good idea of entering the Route du Sud race will discover Samatan again, a stage town in 2011. Unfortunately they will have to miss out on its foie gras before they take part in the stage.The day will not present any major difficulties, but the teams of sprinters will be impatient to fight it out to win the stage.

Stage16

High Mountains Wednesday 18 July Pau > Bagnères-de-Luchon 197 km

Stage 16: 197 km | Wednesday 18 July, Pau > Bagnères-de-Luchon

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

The layout of the stage and the future stakes may well upset the order at the top of general classification, four days before the end of the race. No matter what the gap is, the major stage in the Pyrénées will be dreaded by the wearer of the Yellow Jersey, who will have to defend his position while climbing towards the Tourmalet, the Aubisque, the Aspin and the Peyresourde!

Stage 17

No-one will be feeling out of danger in the morning of a stage that is just as difficult, where there will be no slack period, with, on the agenda, the Col de Menté, whose steepest slope will be climbed by the riders and the Col des Ares.Then from the start of the Port de Balès all the way to the red pennant there will not be any flat ground.

Stage 18

Friday 20 July Blagnac > Brive-la-Gaillarde 222.5 km

Stage 18: 222.5 km | Friday 20 July, Blagnac > Brive-la-Gaillarde

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

The leaders of the general classification are advised to get their breath back, but it is unsure whether the teams of sprinters, who have not been able to express themselves for a long time, will let them have this luxury. The club of finishers capable of challenging Cavendish during a grouped confrontation is increasing: Brive appears to be a city that is there for the taking.

Stage 19

Individual time-trial Saturday 21 July Bonneval > Chartres 53.5 km

Stage 19: 53.5 km | Saturday 21 July, Bonneval > Chartres

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

This will be the moment of truth. Let the climbers be warned: with a last 52-km long time-trial to tackle, they will have to gain a significant amount of time in the mountains. And the best flat racers know that, during a final attack, everything can be seen in a new light.

Stage 20

Sunday 22 July Rambouillet > Paris Champs-Élysées 120 km

Stage 20: 120 km | Sunday 22 July, Rambouillet > Paris Champs-Élysées

Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis

This promises to be a very emotional stage, with the memory of the final start in Yvelines and the last time-trial won by Greg LeMond in 1989. Although there may be slightly less suspense there, many thrills are guaranteed on the final circuit. An adventure will come to an end for all the riders who take this route, and the handful of sprinters who are competing for the victory will provide a performance that is always entertaining.

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